Major cities top work-life balance figure in South Korea
- 5 years ago
South Korea ranks among the lowest in the OECD in terms of how people perceive their well-being.
Among other things, the figures point to Korea's traditionally long working hours... despite the Moon administration's ongoing efforts to change that.
Our Won Jung-hwan explains.
Among South Korea's 17 cities and provinces,… the highest score for work-life balance goes to the capital, Seoul.
A report published Friday by the Ministry of Employment and Labor shows how residents scored their work-life balance on a scale of zero to a hundred.
The national average was 37-point-1,… but Seoul was 6 points higher.
The runners up were the cities of Busan, Daejeon and Ulsan,… and the lowest scoring areas were Chuncheongbuk-do and Chungcheongnam-do provinces at 34-point-8.
The report was based on a survey taken for first time in 2017.
The Ministry explained that the reason major cities scored higher is that they're home to big companies,... and the government has decided to put limits on their working hours, which had often been called "inhumanely long."
Nearly six months ago, in July,… the government started announced a 52-hour limit on weekly work hours for businesses with more than 300 employees.
These companies get a six-month grace period before it's enforced... to allow them to prepare, but starting next month, if the rules are not followed, business owners can face up to two years in prison or a fine of up to around 18-thousand U.S. dollars.
With the rules about to change, many big businesses in major cities have been hiring new workers and overhauling their work schedules.
But it appears that the imbalance with other regions is likely to continue... because many small and medium-sized companies can't afford to hire new people and have a harder time adopting flexible working hours for employees who need them.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.
Among other things, the figures point to Korea's traditionally long working hours... despite the Moon administration's ongoing efforts to change that.
Our Won Jung-hwan explains.
Among South Korea's 17 cities and provinces,… the highest score for work-life balance goes to the capital, Seoul.
A report published Friday by the Ministry of Employment and Labor shows how residents scored their work-life balance on a scale of zero to a hundred.
The national average was 37-point-1,… but Seoul was 6 points higher.
The runners up were the cities of Busan, Daejeon and Ulsan,… and the lowest scoring areas were Chuncheongbuk-do and Chungcheongnam-do provinces at 34-point-8.
The report was based on a survey taken for first time in 2017.
The Ministry explained that the reason major cities scored higher is that they're home to big companies,... and the government has decided to put limits on their working hours, which had often been called "inhumanely long."
Nearly six months ago, in July,… the government started announced a 52-hour limit on weekly work hours for businesses with more than 300 employees.
These companies get a six-month grace period before it's enforced... to allow them to prepare, but starting next month, if the rules are not followed, business owners can face up to two years in prison or a fine of up to around 18-thousand U.S. dollars.
With the rules about to change, many big businesses in major cities have been hiring new workers and overhauling their work schedules.
But it appears that the imbalance with other regions is likely to continue... because many small and medium-sized companies can't afford to hire new people and have a harder time adopting flexible working hours for employees who need them.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.